Otto Energy Ltd has announced that a drilling contract has been signed by the operator with Ensco Plc for the Ensco 68 jack - up rig to carry out the South Marsh Island Block 71 (SM 71) drilling and completion program. The Ensco 68 will be available before the end of November 2017 to follow the installation of the tripod production facility on the lease. The 60 - day contract will allow the joint venture to drill the SM 71 F2 well and then complete the SM 71 F2 and SM 71 F1 (previously referred to as SM 71 #1) wells.
The Ensco 68 is an independent leg jack - up rig built by Marathon/ Le Tourneau in 1976 and has undergone numerous equipment updates and upgrades since it was placed in to se rvice. Photo courtesy of Ensco Plc. The SM 71 F2 well has two targets, the B65 Sand and the D5 Sand. The D5 Sand is the primary focus of the development at SM 71 and the SM 71 F2 well will provide a second production location in the D5 Sand reservoir. The initial SM 71 well, the SM 71 #1 (now renamed the SM 71 F1), logged 151 feet (true vertical thickness) of oil pay in four zones and was drilled in 2016.
The independent reserve assessment prepared by Collarini Associates (“Collarini”) assigned a total of 2.271 million barrels equivalent net to Otto on a 2P basis, with the bulk of those reserves coming from the D5 Sand. The D5 Sand has been productive in other parts of the South Marsh Island 73 Field where over 20 million barrels of oil have been produced from multiple D5 Sand completions.